Oklahoma Walmartgunfire fatal to 3
DUNCAN, Okla. -- Two men and a woman were fatally shot Monday morning outside a Walmart store in southwestern Oklahoma, and one of the three is the shooter, authorities said.
Two victims were shot inside a car and the third died in the parking lot just before 10 a.m. outside the store in Duncan, Police Chief Danny Ford said.
Authorities did not immediately provide a motive for the shooting. Ford said at a news conference that it appears a gunman shot the male and female victims and then turned the gun on himself.
Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks said during the news conference that there was never an active shooter inside the store and he described the shooting as an isolated incident. He did not further explain.
Two bodies covered with sheets were visible in the parking lot Monday afternoon. One body was in the driver's seat of a red, two-door car. The other body was lying on the ground next to the vehicle.
Authorities have not released the identities of those killed but did confirm the shooter was among the dead. Ford said all three knew one another but declined to describe their relationships.
Walmart spokesman LeMia Jenkins said in an email that no staff members were involved in the shooting and that the store was not evacuated.
School vouchersdeemed taxable
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee's education commissioner says the state's new school vouchers for private education will be considered federally taxable income for parents.
After confirming the requirement to lawmakers Monday, Commissioner Penny Schwinn told reporters the Board of Education, attorney general's office and program rulemaking officials helped make the determination.
Schwinn said officials will have to examine the taxable income of families as a result, given income limits to receive vouchers worth up to $7,300 annually.
Participating families cannot exceed twice the federal income eligibility for free school lunch.
The law says the vouchers "do not constitute income of a parent of a participating student" under Tennessee law. That doesn't affect federal taxes.
Gov. Bill Lee's administration is hoping to begin the program next year. It's limited to Shelby and Davidson counties.
Prostitution billis pulled in D.C.
WASHINGTON -- A measure that would have decriminalized the selling and buying of sex in the nation's capital will not move forward this year, lawmakers said, after an emotional hearing and thousands of emails revealed deep divisions among District of Columbia residents.
If approved, the bill would have eliminated criminal penalties for sex workers and their customers -- making Washington the first American city to decriminalize prostitution. The bill's death comes after an emotional hearing last week that lasted 14 hours. In addition, council members said they received thousands of emails about the bill.
Council member Charles Allen, a Democrat who leads the committee that heard testimony from advocates, activists and people in the sex trade, said the proposal lacked the support needed to survive a committee vote.
"But it was a very important conversation to have, and to give a lot of voice to a community that is already very marginalized," Allen said.
Councilman David Grosso said the bill was undermined by Chairman Phil Mendelson, who has opposed the bill. Mendelson disagreed, saying his office primarily heard negative feedback about the bill.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 11/19/2019